Nex
:This is an article on the nation of Nex. For information on the person of the same name, see Nex (person). A realm forged by one of the most powerful wizards to ever walk Golarion and named in his honor, Nex (pronounced NEKS) is a realm still filled with arcane wonders and ancient scars left by Nex himself. This combination of history and magic helps to make Nex one of the most cosmopolitan nations of eastern Garund. History Nex was formed in the ancient past, millennia ago, before this there was no nation to speak of just a collection of city-states grew from the ancient city state of Quantium. With the rise of the legendary archmage Nex Quantium experienced a rapid rise in power and soon dominated the surrounding city states creating the nation that would be known as Nex. It was not until -892 AR , that Nex's territorial ambitions brought him into conflict with the neighbouring southern kingdom of Geb, sparking the legendary conflict with the necromancer Geb that would make both (in)famous. The war between Nex and Geb was legendary with the two arcanists battling each other for many centuries, the magic used by Geb in this prolonged war devastated the nation of Nex; while the cities were protected from these magical assaults, the landscape between them has yet to recover. The archmage Nex disappeared during the war (in 576 AR) after a vicious gebbite attack that bathed the whole of Quantium in a poisonous fog that killed thousands and threw the country into political chaos. Despite this infighting the remaining government managed to stave off the attack from Geb, after that a series of arcane cults, cabals and factions have ruled the country. Despite the once fearsome rivalry, the hostility between the countries of Geb and Nex has cooled since Nex's disappearance and now a brisk trade passes between the two with Nex buying much of its food from Geb. The creation of the ruling Council of Three and Nine was a compromise aimed at keeping a balance between the various factions that traditionally fight with each other for control of Nex. Government Government in Nex has been a chaotic, complicated process ever since the archmage Nex disappeared over four millennia ago. When he was still alive Nex rule was unquestioned but when he disappeared the country was thrown into chaos, only just staving off invasion from their neighbouring kingdoms. Since his disappearance a wide variety of strange sects, arcane cabals and cults of personality have ruled with each claiming some sort of insight into what the archmage Nex plan's were for his now abandoned citizens. The current rulers are a group known as the Council of Three and Nine. They have tried to build some sort of unity between the various factions that would normally vie with each other for complete control of Nex. The result is a government that is mired in bureaucracy and political infighting, despite its current weaknesses Nex has never been conquered and there are no signs of the Council of Three and Nine faltering. Geography Nex is not a verdant, gentle land, not after the centuries of magical warfare between two magic users as powerful as Nex and Geb, all the land outside of the magically protected cities was blighted by Geb's magic, turning them into a barren wasteland. These lands are now inhabited by tribesmen, outlaws and the descendants of the magical beasts unleashed by Nex during the war (many of them created in the fleshforges of Ecanus). Interestingly the nearby island that is now know as the impossible kingdom of Jalmeray has belonged to the realm of Nex on at least two different occasions. In 253 AR Nex added the isle of Jalmeray to its territory, but it only remained a part of their territory for just over two hundred years before Nex gifted it to Khiben-Sald, the first Vudrani to sail from distant Vudra all the way to Garund in 563 AR. Soon after introducing the nations of the Inner Sea and Obari Ocean to the wonders of Vudra Khiben-Sald leaves sealing the wonders he had created and leaving the Island. It was reclaimed by the Arclords of Nex shortly after the disappearance of Nex in 576 AR. It remained in Nexian hands until 2822 AR when descendants of Khiben-Sald returned to reclaim the island as their own, promptly ejecting the remaining arclords from the island. Settlements * Ecanus * Oenopion * Quantium Inhabitants The inhabitants of Nex are for the most part human but the cities are cosmopolitan and filled with people of every race and creed. The people of Nex have had a traditional rivalry with their southern neighbours in Geb, once this rivalry was violent but now it has simmered down and there is even a brisk trade between the two nations. Outside the large cities the human inhabitants turn from cosmopolitan to insular with small tribes and bandit groups attempting to carve out a meagre existence from the blasted and desolated lands. Humans are not however the dominate species as the wastelands between the cities is roamed by foul monstrosities, relics from the ancient war between Nex and Geb many of which were created in the fleshforges of Ecanus. References Category:Nations Category:Nations of Garund Category:Neutral nations